The Conservative Cave
Current Events => The DUmpster => Topic started by: Texacon on January 31, 2009, 11:22:14 AM
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Be careful what you wish for ....
(http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4950449)
underpants (1000+ posts)
Sat Jan-31-09 11:18 AM
Original message
Just talked to my letter carrier- she is PRAYING they cut back to 5 days
Edited on Sat Jan-31-09 11:20 AM by underpants
nice short conversation
I was not too impressed with what she told me (not a member) of their union.
She works a "T6" schedule which means that she works 6 days a week and gets a full weekend off every 6 weeks.
Apparently the post master mentioned something about not delivering on Tuesdays. My letter carrier thought that had to be bait for people to say "Tuesday? hell no SATURDAY!!" which she wants. Her husband, retired Postal, said that if they did cut out Tuesday and there was a Monday holiday that would mean no mail to businesses from Saturday until Wednesday. Even without a holiday the Tuesday thing would mean delivery on Saturday, Sunday off, delivery on Monday, Tuesday off--doesn't make much sense. The business crowd won't like that either.
Anyway she would LOVE a 5 day delivery week. Fed employees get 4 weeks of vacation a year-after 15 years they get 5 weeks but they can only take 3 and they have to have the union negotiate (union rules) to sell back the other week or two that they were never going to get anyway.
Not bashing on unions-just telling you what she told me. She gave my daughter a lollipop when she saw us out for a walk last weekend.
And so begins the journey.
notesdev (975 posts)
Sat Jan-31-09 11:24 AM
Response to Original message
3. My neighbor postal worker
and I had a discussion about this last night... he seemed to think that the net result would be a greater use of Express Mail for delivery on the day that gets cut from the schedule, as happens now with Sundays.
He also had an interesting tidbit to relate as to the huge increase in the number of people using Express Mail, to pay mortgages and credit card bills at the last minute.
I have noticed my CC company has shortened the time I have to pay. This DUmmie is starting to hit on something but I don't think it realizes it.
MadHound (1000+ posts) Sat Jan-31-09 11:24 AM
Response to Original message
4. What a bizarre schedule,
I wonder if that is typically the case. Everywhere I've lived in the Midwest, there's a full time carrier Monday-Friday, then a part time weekend carrier. I think that the weekend carrier sometimes subs for the full time person and/or does work at the distribution center or such.
If they're going to cut, Saturday does make the most sense. However I find it rather disgusting that they feel the need to cut service, especially in light of how much the PO has raised mail rates in the past decade or so. Just goes to show you how inefficient this privatized monstrosity is.
Rather than cutting service, why not try cutting out some of the deadwood at the top of the PO management. There are way to many of these people who perform very little work in exchange for one hell of a lot of money.
Yes, yes .... make the cut for Saturday. Then you will have 2 days and sometimes 3 of no mail ..... wonder how that could affect the DUmmies?
Puglover (1000+ posts)
Sat Jan-31-09 11:26 AM
Response to Original message
7. My partner is a carrier and we
Edited on Sat Jan-31-09 11:29 AM by Puglover
are both praying for the 5 day delivery week and praying it will be Sat. If they pick Tues. scheduling the carriers will be even more nightmarish then it already is. He is sick to death of not having two consecutive days off.
As far as Sat is concerned I would think they could only deliver express mail etc. if something HAD to be delivered.
More votes for Saturday ......
havocmom (1000+ posts)
Sat Jan-31-09 11:31 AM
Response to Original message
12. Monday holiday + no mail on Tuesday = BIG $$ for lenders
Lots of late payment fees (and they are going up from what I read) will apply when check get stuck in the mail for extra days.
My new method for evaluating real motives for just about anything: Who stands to profit?
Uh oh .... one of them is hitting on half the problem!!
lies and propaganda (1000+ posts)
Sat Jan-31-09 11:36 AM
Response to Original message
14. so I am.
as an internet business owner its incredibly nice to be able to have a day off. From shipping and packaging, anyway.
As much time i spend in the Post, I can tell you that all of my carriers do as well.
This one is just for fun. Wanna bet the internet 'business owner' sells shit on Ebay?! :-)
Jamastiene (1000+ posts)
Sat Jan-31-09 11:46 AM
Response to Original message
22. That Tuesday thing has me stumped as well.
I just cannot figure out why they want to make it a Tuesday and break up the week like that. It makes not sense to me.
Another Saturday vote .....
Gman (1000+ posts)
Sat Jan-31-09 11:54 AM
Response to Original message
23. So a scab is looking out for herself
I'm sure she doesn't complain one bit about the vacation she gets because of the union. And selling back vacation weeks? That's a great perk. Many union contracts say you work 52 weeks, you get paid 52 weeks and you can't sell anything back. That's a good perk.
Being a scab, she should be required to take unpaid vacation, be ineligible for health care coverage, etc.
Then this DUmmie wants to put the screws to a working person?? WTH?
Out of all the posts none of the DUmmies have mentioned the other half of this problem. Yeah, one of them figured out they could possibly be late (r) on their payments than usual thereby realizing late payment penalties. What none of them have figured out yet, which is surprising knowing the posters there, is that their GOVERNMENT CHECKS could be coming in late!
The shit will hit the fan when the government checks show up late. They won't be as concerned when the cc payment is late because, well, let's face it, almost all of them pay late. It will simply be another excuse but it will STILL be late.
Can you imagine what the DUmpmonkies will be like if they can't get their meds on time?!
KC
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Obama is just the man we need to cure America's over-employment crisis.
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To be honest, they could cut that shit back to three days a week as far as I'm concerned. 90% of all things I get in the mailbox is nothing more than junk.
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To be honest, they could cut that shit back to three days a week as far as I'm concerned. 90% of all things I get in the mailbox is nothing more than junk.
And the other 10% is bills and who the @#$% wants that $#!+
Besides, I stopped getting $$$ in my birthday cards almost 3 decades ago; so the mail is pretty much useless altogether as far as I'm concerned.
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Wouldn't bother me a bit if they cut back to 5 days or even 4. I can see creditors taking advantage of the fewer delivery days though. If you don't get your mail delivered 6 days a week, then it could shorten the amount of time you have to pay your bills. But, if you are smart and responsible, you knoww what your monthly bills are anyway and know when they are due. Especially if you have online bill pay.
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Hell, with the exception of the water bill, all my bills are paid online. The ones that do come in generally go straight to the shredder.
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Mine too. And, paper statements are a courtesy and do not relieve your obligation to pay. In other words, "I didn't get my statement in the mail this month" isn't going to excuse you from paying on time.
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To be honest, they could cut that shit back to three days a week as far as I'm concerned. 90% of all things I get in the mailbox is nothing more than junk.
I agree. Go green, stop sending me dead trees in the shape of catalogues I never requested.
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Hell, with the exception of the water bill, all my bills are paid online. The ones that do come in generally go straight to the shredder.
Yeah, we pay all of our bills online, or their directly drawn from my pay. I haven't mailed a check in 5 years.
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They should mock them and cut Monday out instead
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They should mock them and cut Monday out instead
Wednesday works better for me......no long weekends for holiday's..... :rotf:
Hey, we are talking government here.
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Wednesday works better for me......no long weekends for holiday's..... :rotf:
Hey, we are talking government here.
If'n you wanna go there how about taking them to a 4 day week. 4 - 10's. They can work;
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday are reserved for family time and vacation.
LOL
KC
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How about we just privatize it and let them figure out how to deliver the mail
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It's another example of how the government can screw up and make an otherwise good bidness unprofitable.
I do everything online from paying bills to sending out birthday e-cards, so cut out mail delivery all together
and it wouldn't bother me. Let FedEx, UPS, DHL & Express Mail (privatized version) compete in the free market
and all will be well.
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DHL gave up in the US domestic market. There was once an attempt out of Oklahoma to start a private postal service but the federal government shut them down.
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Short answer from Miskie -
It'll probably never happen.
Long answer -
Union contracts - The NALC (what the uniformed walking carriers belong to) just completed signing in a 5 year contract that specifically dictates a 6 day week. The NRLCA (the union to which miskie belongs) just completed a three year contract with the same specifications. To go to a 5 day week during the summer months will require congressional action. BTW, what this is over is retiree health benefits. There is more money going out than can be handled, even with the far less greedy ( and nonpartisan to boot) NRLCA.
Anyway, because of the massive red tape involved in making this a reality, I suspect the market downturn will be corrected by the time action can be taken on the workweek, thus negating its necessity. I suspect the end-sum will be hefty postage increases since the USPS gets funding only from stamps.
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Maybe if the TRULY privatize the service, rather than maintain this bastardization of privatization, they can still deliver every day, including Sunday, and cut many of the prices to boot. Of course then they'd be bitching about how the postal carriers aren't unionized, the rich mail owners are getting richer, etc.
The USPS is a microcosm on how the government would run health care and the auto industry, as well as everything else after this bailout pans out into a perpetual government ownership "paradise."
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I know two postal carriers. One a moderate Republican and the other is pert near a moonbat. Except for being hotter than hades in the summertime the conservative dude loves his job,says it beats working for a living. The almost moonbat dude pisses & moans about everything under the sun.
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Maybe if the TRULY privatize the service, rather than maintain this bastardization of privatization, they can still deliver every day, including Sunday, and cut many of the prices to boot. Of course then they'd be bitching about how the postal carriers aren't unionized, the rich mail owners are getting richer, etc.
The USPS is a microcosm on how the government would run health care and the auto industry, as well as everything else after this bailout pans out into a perpetual government ownership "paradise."
Privatization would be a mistake - the USPS works to break even. No for-profit business could exist within that framework, so postage rates would increase massively as a result. The amount of money we make is also mythical. I make $18.24 an hour - which amounts to 40K a year. As for benefits, they aren't bad, but aren't dirt cheap either. We have a ton of options from a ton of companies so there are really no massive savings because of numbers of employees to be had.
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I know two postal carriers. One a moderate Republican and the other is pert near a moonbat. Except for being hotter than hades in the summertime the conservative dude loves his job,says it beats working for a living. The almost moonbat dude pisses & moans about everything under the sun.
You mean the conservative doesn't need anything outside himself to make him happy but the liberal's ego prevents him from accepting a world that refuses to comport to 100% of his subjective expectations?
The deuce you say!
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How about we just privatize it and let them figure out how to deliver the mail
:agree:
I agree so much I H5ed a freakin Cowboys fan. :p
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I know two postal carriers. One a moderate Republican and the other is pert near a moonbat. Except for being hotter than hades in the summertime the conservative dude loves his job,says it beats working for a living. The almost moonbat dude pisses & moans about everything under the sun.
Ive met more than one raving moonbat in the Postal Service. I think alot of them got in hoping to find that government job nirvana they heard so much about. Nope.
The best place to find them is working behind the counter. many of the APWU are strike threatening, Obama endorsing, paycheck grumbling nitwits. Not all of them, but many.
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Privatization would be a mistake - the USPS works to break even. No for-profit business could exist within that framework, so postage rates would increase massively as a result. The amount of money we make is also mythical. I make $18.24 an hour - which amounts to 40K a year. As for benefits, they aren't bad, but aren't dirt cheap either. We have a ton of options from a ton of companies so there are really no massive savings because of numbers of employees to be had.
How you make only $18.34/hr when starting wage is a tad over $20/hr or$41,888/yr according to http://www.nalc.org/depart/cau/pdf/wages/paychart1108.pdfhttp://www.nalc.org/depart/cau/pdf/wages/paychart1108.pdf
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How you make only $18.34/hr when starting wage is a tad over $20/hr or$41,888/yr according to http://www.nalc.org/depart/cau/pdf/wages/paychart1108.pdfhttp://www.nalc.org/depart/cau/pdf/wages/paychart1108.pdf
Thats the NALC - not NRLCA. http://www.nrlca.org/
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:agree:
I agree so much I H5ed a freakin Cowboys fan. :p
Q: What do the NFL and Brokeback Mountain have in common?
A: Cowboys that suck.
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I pay all my bills electronically. Partly because the mailbox where I live is insecure. Partly because I work for the bank and the service is free, but mostly because the payments arrive at the biller in two days rather than five. I think I only have two bills come by paper now, most of the billers have the option of electronic presentment.
The bank where I work depends on the mail though. At least my department does. Most of our mail is notarized stuff, or checks.
Lots of our payments come by wire though. And the percentage of that is set to increase come March.
If we could get past the notary issue, we could just the post office goodbye. The competitor we just bought out doesn't do notary like we do. We are researching their way as maybe the better way, if we could just answer a couple security question problems.
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Wouldn't bother me a bit if they cut back to 5 days or even 4. I can see creditors taking advantage of the fewer delivery days though. If you don't get your mail delivered 6 days a week, then it could shorten the amount of time you have to pay your bills. But, if you are smart and responsible, you knoww what your monthly bills are anyway and know when they are due. Especially if you have online bill pay.
I haven't had a paper bill (nor payment) in years. The only PO delivery I get is Netflix.
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The only recurring bill we do not pay on line is the water/sewage bill. They don't really offer that option.
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The only recurring bill we do not pay on line is the water/sewage bill. They don't really offer that option.
Water/sewer Bill is one I don't pay online because they want to charge a 'Conveinience Fee" to do so. I drive by the place a couple times a day so I just drop a check off.
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Water/sewer Bill is one I don't pay online because they want to charge a 'Conveinience Fee" to do so. I drive by the place a couple times a day so I just drop a check off.
It comes quarterly, so it's not a big deal to pop a check in the mail 3 times a year.
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Q: What do the NFL and Brokeback Mountain have in common?
A: Cowboys that suck.
ain't that the truth